FESTIVAL OVERVIEW

The first weekend in October signifies a special occurrence for many prog-metal fans around the world in their gigging calendars - yes, it is once again time for the annual ProgPower Europe festival. And this year is a special occasion for the unique event as 2008 sees the festival reach its 10th anniversary. Held once again in the Sjiwa, an 800 capacity hall in the beautiful, picturesque village of Baarlo, southern Netherlands, ProgPower's 10th edition promised to be a memorable event both musically and otherwise...and it exceeded all expectations. Aside from the diverse range of bands that had been booked to play, some largely unknown, and others well established within the scene, ProgPower is a time for socialising; catching up with old friends and meeting new, like-minded people. The festival is genuinely unique in its familial atmosphere and friendly camaraderie. The traditional Friday pre-party in the Sjiwa's basement had been sacrificed this year in favour of a full night of bands in the venue's main hall for an extra dose of ProgPower to mark the 10 year milestone. Extra ProgPower! Great! Let's hope this becomes a regular format for future editions. The after-parties are once again a highlight of the weekend, taking place in the basement at the end of each headline act's set over the three days. Your humble webmaster managed to 'survive' until 4am after the final night this year - much fun was had! Metal Discovery also brings you 2 interviews from the festival - one with the very lovely people of Swedish band Wolverine, and another with two of the incredibly crazy Norwegians in Atrox (see 'Interviews' section of site for these). ProgPower 2008 was my fifth consecutive year of attending this outstanding event, and indubitably the best yet. So then, onto the bands...

PROGPOWER EUROPE 2008

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 3rd October - Sunday 5th October 2008

Sjiwa in Baarlo, Netherlands

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

CYNIC; ZERO HOUR; ALARUM; WOLVERINE; SUN CAGED; CILICE

SUNDAY

THRESHOLD; WOLVERINE; SUSPYRE; THE AURORA PROJECT; PATHOSRAY; 21 EYES OF RUBY

PAGAN'S MIND; ATROX; DIVISION BY ZERO

"ProgPower's 10th edition promised to be a memorable event both musically and otherwise...and it exceeded all expectations."

Prog-metal action in the Sjiwa, Baarlo, Netherlands, 4th October 2008

Photograph copyright © 2008 Mark Holmes - www.metal-discovery.com

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

DIVISION BY ZERO

The first band to be booked for this year's ProgPower back in October 2007 are rather aptly first on stage for the opening evening of the festival - Polish progsters Division By Zero. As with their fellow countrymen Riverside at ProgPower 2004, tonight is the band's first appearance outside Poland, and look what's happened to Mariusz Duda and co since! Much touted by festival mainman Rene Janssen to be one of the surprises of the weekend, hopes were set high for the five Poles. As band members appear on stage, I immediately notice the physical similarities between frontman Slawek Wierny and Duda, and while certain passages of music are reminiscent of Riverside, Division By Zero are stylistically disparate in their overall sound. Playing for around an hour, the varied material on offer comfortably weaves the lighter and heaver sides of prog, and it is the moments heavier guitar riffing and Wierny's sporadic death growls that elevate the songs beyond the band's otherwise generically progressive style. With a good, although far from perfect, sound through the PA, the Poles are somewhat subdued in their performance, with the exception of Wierny who remains animated throughout their set, and his constant attempts to engender movement from the moderately sized crowd borrow from every frontman cliché in the book as he encourages people to clap along, show the horns, wave hands in the air, hold up lighters etc. Such enthusiasm must be admired, and his in-between song banter is amusing even though he states at one point - "I'm going to stop talking...because I don't speak much English"! Overall, not the mind-blowing sonic experience that was promised, and certainly lacking the impact Riverside had at the festival four years previously, although Division By Zero are definitely a band worth checking out in the future.

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FRIDAY 3rd OCTOBER

ATROX

Next up are avant-garde metallers Atrox from Norway. Formed in 1988, it was 1997 before their debut album, 'Mesmerised' was released, and this year marked the occasion of fifth full-length effort, 'Binocular', on Season of Mist, their first release since 2003's 'Orgasm'. With only a handful of live appearances during the past 10 years, and just one gig outside of Norway, tonight is something of a rare opportunity to catch this eccentric metal act live. Seemingly playing to a click, Atrox are blessed with a fully resonant sound through the PA, and barrage ProgPower's Friday night audience with their largely unclassifiable assault of genuinely progressive tunes. There really are no comparisons for Atrox's music, as it skilfully blends elements of 70s psychedelia; groove-infused stoner; industrial goth; the experimental stylistics of labelmates and fellow Norwegians Solefald; occasional bursts of Mike Patton-esque craziness, although all held together by flourishes of metal riffing, and never straying into the territory of inaccessible cacophony. To interweave so many disparate elements without sacrificing compositional accessibility is a sign of masterful songwriting, and this is where Atrox excel. Frontman Rune Folgerø, only with the band since 2004, delivers note perfect vocals, and strides around the stage during instrumental passages, occasionally burying his head into the smoke machine's discharge, while bassist Erik Paulsen, clad in 70s style attire, brings a fun element into the band's performance, smiling his way through most of the set, and declaring at one point - "Hello Africa!". In short, Atrox are a stunning band, both live and recorded, and I urge all fans of genuinely progressive music to check them out. Carnivalesque entertainment at its best!

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PAGAN'S MIND

Obviously there had been no hard feelings between Pagan's Mind and the ProgPower organisers after the band's unprofessional behaviour at the festival in 2005. The incident I refer to is where they played for 5-10 minutes longer than their scheduled time, continually ignoring crew members at the side of the stage signalling for them to cease playing, and geeing the crowd up to cheer for yet another song which prompted the festival's main organiser Rene Janssen to appear on stage and take the microphone from frontman Nils K. Rue to politely inform the audience that there would be no more Pagan's Mind that afternoon. Three years on, and the Norwegian power/prog fusion quintet have been afforded a 2 hour headline slot for the festival's first day - so there would be no delay causing from the over-eager musicians tonight. With the Sjiwa crammed full of enthusiastic spectators, Pagan's Mind are evidently a wise choice for Friday's headline act, and rather amusingly, 2 hours is still not enough time for them as they decide to extend their allotted slot by 15 minutes! Playing a set of material spanning their four studio albums to date, for me it is tracks from 2005's 'Enigmatic : Calling' that really shine this evening such as the epic bombast of 'The Celestine Prophecy' and the riff-led 'Enigmatic Mission'. Masters of their respective instruments, the enthusiasm in Pagan's Mind's performance is infectious as the crowd reciprocate with huge movement and sing-alongs en masse. Ronny Tegner is perhaps one of the most liveliest keyboardists ever to grace the Sjiwa stage - vigorously headbanging his way through each song, his instrument oscillates on its stand as if about to tumble at any moment. Guitarist Jørn Viggo Lofstad impresses with some virtuoso shredding, while bassist Steinar Krokmo plays occasional complex runs on his six-string bass and simultaneously grinning, looking like he's about to burst into inexplicable fits of laughter at any moment. Sticksman Stian Kristoffersen pounds away at his kit with precision timing, as frontman Rue delivers high-pitched vocals that are, at times, an evident strain on his voice judging by some of his pained expressions, although in perfect pitch. ProgPower's audience lap up every bar of each song played in what is more or less a flawless performance by the band (give or take occasional mishaps such as Lofstad fluffing the intro to one song which he has to begin again). I even spot After Forever's Floor Jansen standing just in front of me nodding along to the music, although I gather her attendance is probably to do with the fact she's commenced work on a side-project with Lofstad. Axiomatically happy to be back in Baarlo (for their 3rd ProgPower Europe appearance), Rue states towards the end of the set "I'm so happy right now - you're the best audience we've had in a while". By the time the Norwegians exit the stage, two and a quarter hours is perhaps a little bit too much of Pagan's Mind for me, although I'm sure that many in the Sjiwa are hungry for more. Pagan's Mind do, however, provide a fantastic finale to ProgPower 2008's opening day.

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